Holding boys back in Kindergarten so they can "mature".

(Posted on 5/1/13 at 9:02 am)

Reading the other thread about "redshirting" kids for sports, I started to think about this.

I'm not going to mention any names of any schools (cough cough PARKVIEW BAPTIST), but when Pimp Jr., chick-magnet extraordinaire that he is, was but a wee lad of five, his teachers at a school I will not mention (cough cough PARKVIEW BAPTIST) told me we needed to keep him in Kindergarten for another year.

Not because his grades were bad. Not because he was disruptive in class. But because,...wait for it...he was "immature". Immmature ? Of course he's immature. He's five. Do you want me to send him to school with a Wall Street Journal and a smoking jacket ? Wtf ?

It's how it's done these days, especially at private schools. The girls are more mature, the schools are thusly "feminized" by school administrators (almost completely female), and the boys are portrayed as being "immature" for being normal 5 year old boys. And don't get me started on the private school "money-grab" aspect of this.

Fast forward six years and Pimp Junior is a completely normal twelve-year old with good grades in the magnet program, with not a single conduct ding through 6th grade.

re: Holding boys back in Kindergarten so they can "mature". (Posted on 5/1/13 at 9:13 am to vistajay)

Pimp Junior is MELLOW. We called him Baby Buddha. He's just a HAPPY, steady,un-aggressive kid. When we started to dig around and found out just how many boys were being held back we were flabbergasted.

They said-"He's immature. It's hard for him to focus. His mind wanders"...Well no shite. He's FIVE. He's probably wondering why you idiots want to sit in chairs all day talking about shapes and colors when there is A WORLD OUT THERE TO EXPLORE!

re: Holding boys back in Kindergarten so they can "mature". (Posted on 5/1/13 at 9:15 am to Lsupimp)

They told my parents the same thing when I was in kindergarden, since my birthday was about 10 days before the cutoff. I was being compared to all the other boys in my class that had been held back already, and were much older, sometimes more than a year older. My parents told them that I would be fine.

Fast forward about 7-8 years, and even as one of the youngest in the class, I was one of the first to hit puberty. If I had been held back, I would have been the first by a VERY long time. Good for you for not listening to the teachers. He won't be "immature" forever.

re: Holding boys back in Kindergarten so they can "mature". (Posted on 5/1/13 at 9:16 am to Lsupimp)

My wife teaches first grade at an inner city public school and she always has 1 or 2 boys that need to be held back for immaturity. She's been teaching for 20 years and knows what a 5-6 year old's maturity level should be.

re: Holding boys back in Kindergarten so they can "mature". (Posted on 5/1/13 at 9:18 am to Lsupimp)

My son is 6yrs old in the 1st grade. His birthday is sept. 1st so he is one of, if not the youngest in his class. We tried to send him to kindergarten again this year to get it out of the way, but the teachers told us he was to bored in kindergarten and recommended we send him to 1st grade 2 weeks into the school year. He is making straight A's in 1st grade. I plan to hold him back in junior high. That's what I did and it worked out great. He is above average in all the sports he plays, despite being 6 in all 7,8,&9 yr old leagues. I think he will benefit from playing up in age. He hasn't hit his growth spurt yet so he is usually shorter than most of his teammates. I'm 6'2 so I'm sure he will catch up.